You know that bit in the Bible where it talks about one or more footprints in the sand? Me neither. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn’t Scripture (So please don’t ask me to read it out at a funeral). I love what the Non-Adventures of Wonderella do with that poem here. I like to think that it’s the poem rather than Jesus that comes off badly. I love how it just gets more ridiculous with each panel.

I’ve done my time in the front lines of the retail industry. I’ve worked the cash register and answered phone calls. I’m sure it’s a common experience for retail employees to have experienced their fair share of… unusual customers. People who ask for all kinds of crazy, unrelated products. Or just say things that are widely inappropriate for the social situation. I can only begin to imagine how much worse it would be in the kingdom of the nerds. Our Valued Customers is a webcomic created by a comic book shop employee. He takes the things said to him or overheard in the shop and turns them into comics. And these comics are equal parts insightful and disturbing.

The comic that I’d like to discuss fulfills both those criteria. It gives a great insight into our lives. But of course it has a bit of a disturbing feel. And it all has to do with thought balloons in comic books.

If Jesus came over for dinner, would it be weird? Last November, Jesus joined the Penny Arcade crew for Thanksgiving. In the Gospels, we see plenty of occasions where Jesus sat down and shared a meal with people. He must have been a good dinner guest as people kept inviting him to parties. If you had Jesus over for dinner, what would you talk about? What would you eat? And most importantly, would you say grace? Would saying grace open up some kind of trinitarian brain explosion?

Starting next Monday, I’m planning a new weekly series for Pop Culture Christ called Webcomics Monday. Over the last few months I’ve been storing up a whole bunch of webcomics that deal with Christian and/or religious themes. Each Monday, I’ll be linking to one of these comics and briefly discussing them. So far, I’ve got enough to last me a few months at least, but I’d be very keen for people to link me to more. I don’t care how old they are, as long as they’re accessible on the net.

To get you into the mood, I thought I’d give you an idea of what webcomics I’m reading on a regular basis. Bonus points if you can link me to a comic with Christian themes that isn’t on this list!

Say someone wanted to start a new religion. Say they wanted to worship the gods of computer games, gathering together with their Nintendo DS’ and share in fellowship together. Now, say that some representatives of organised religion got upset and wanted them to stop. What would happen next? Ctrl+Alt+Del has been there, done that.

I read a lot of webcomics. And why not? They’re free after all. One of my favourites is a comic called Something Positive. This strip is witty, well drawn, and very, very not PC. If you even the slightest bit offended by almost anything, then do not read Something Positive.

Pop Culture Christ

Our world has all kinds of weird and wacky ideas about Jesus. He's in our movies, our TV shows, our books, our music, everywhere. But how do they compare to the Jesus of the Bible? What about other areas of Christianity, such as God, Scripture, or faith? That's the aim of Pop Culture Christ. To look at how Pop Culture views Christianity and how Christianity views Pop Culture.

Pop Culture Christ is the work of Joel A Moroney. For more information about Joel A Moroney, click on the About link in the header.